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Advice from any Oxford Undergrads Over Application

Hi!

I'm a student sitting for AS Level in June of this year.I currently take Maths, Economics, Physics, History. I am currently interested in doing either Economics or Law for Undergraduate, aiming for top universities, and Oxford is one of those which I am heavily aspiring toward. With that in mind, may I ask:

I do not take Further Maths. How badly does it affect my chances for a course like Economics and Management, or PPE? Because I'm aware that places like Cambridge and LSE will be quite difficult for Economics as I don't take FM. Warwick and UCL are 50-50. But what is it for Oxford? Because it's been something on my mind lately, and I'd like to know if this puts me at a significant disadvantage come the application process, if at all.

Thank you!

Reply 1

Anonymous #2

I'm an Oxford offer holder studying Maths, Further maths physics and history. I'm pretty sure Oxford's economics course is different to Cambridge in that there is significantly less maths. There is still a lot of it but Oxford's entrance exam is the TSA which is more based on critical thinking and problem solving rather than mathematical ability. Not doing FM shouldn't affect your chances too much for Oxford but it puts you out of competition for LSE who have a lot more maths in their course. Your subjects are very good for history and econ which is another course Oxford offers so check that out and see if you like it? DISCLAIMER: I applied for engineering not for econ but I know a few people who applied for econ so this is based on what they've told me. Take it with a pinch of salt and good luck for the future!

Reply 2

fish4president

Hiya, I'm an offer holder for PPE at oxford, my a-levels being maths, biology and English lit. I think that not having done further maths has zero impact on you getting into oxford for ppe, and most ppe courses at other unis (I applied to warwick and ucl for ppe too).

Reply 3

bartolsikora

Hey guys. I've just graduated from Oxford Engineering from St John's this past September - now I didn't study economics or PPE but if you want some general advice on what it was like now that you've got offer (congrats btw) - check out some of my videos on you tube. jus search for my name (Bartol Sikora) - the one about whether Oxford was worth it might be helpful. Hope you enjoy guys 🙂

Reply 4

Anonymous #3

Original post by Anonymous

Hi!
I'm a student sitting for AS Level in June of this year.I currently take Maths, Economics, Physics, History. I am currently interested in doing either Economics or Law for Undergraduate, aiming for top universities, and Oxford is one of those which I am heavily aspiring toward. With that in mind, may I ask:
I do not take Further Maths. How badly does it affect my chances for a course like Economics and Management, or PPE? Because I'm aware that places like Cambridge and LSE will be quite difficult for Economics as I don't take FM. Warwick and UCL are 50-50. But what is it for Oxford? Because it's been something on my mind lately, and I'd like to know if this puts me at a significant disadvantage come the application process, if at all.
Thank you!

Hi, E&M offer holder here, I do FM, and I know a large proportion of E&M offer holders do Further Maths but as the previous commenter mentioned the course is supposed to be a lot less maths heavy than pure Economics at other places at LSE, Cambridge.. etc. I have a friend who also has an offer for E&M and she does not do FM although the school offer it so I am inclined to believe that the reason the majority of offer holders do FM are because they are applying to other competitive unis like LSE/ Warwick who do prefer you to have done it (like me). As long as you have Maths and an essay subj you'll be fine, Oxf prioritise GCSE grades and TSA score.

Reply 5

Anonymous #4

Original post by Anonymous

Hi!
I'm a student sitting for AS Level in June of this year.I currently take Maths, Economics, Physics, History. I am currently interested in doing either Economics or Law for Undergraduate, aiming for top universities, and Oxford is one of those which I am heavily aspiring toward. With that in mind, may I ask:
I do not take Further Maths. How badly does it affect my chances for a course like Economics and Management, or PPE? Because I'm aware that places like Cambridge and LSE will be quite difficult for Economics as I don't take FM. Warwick and UCL are 50-50. But what is it for Oxford? Because it's been something on my mind lately, and I'd like to know if this puts me at a significant disadvantage come the application process, if at all.
Thank you!

It's not economics but I'm currently studying Physics at Oxford. If I remember correctly, back in 1st year our undergrad courses were designed to cover further maths content because they weren't allowed to just assume that everyone had done further maths. I think because of that, they don't assume anyone has any further maths knowledge when they first start and can't expect it from applicants, so I wouldn't expect that you'd be at any disadvantage by not taking it for a subject which I assume has less maths than physics. I know there were several people who got in for physics in my year who hadn't taken it. That's my take, anyways